Dirty Vegas's favourite music software

9th Aug 2011 | 09:33

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Ableton Live

Paul Harris

“I’ve been using Live from day one. The speed with which you’re able to create something interesting on it is amazing; I’ve spent years converting people to it. I guess my most famous convert is my mate DJ Frank E, and he’s doing OK with it!”

Lennardigital Sylenth1

Paul Harris

“This plug-in has probably created nearly every pop hit of the last few years. The sound banks that come with it are amazing but now there are Deadmau5- and Prydz-sounding patches that are pretty bloody amazing. I am very much a preset kind of guy, to be honest, and this has everything a person needs. It’s simply the best soft synth at the moment.”

Native Instruments Maschine

Ben Harris

“I started out making electronic music using Akai samplers like the S950 and 3000, and then I moved to the MPCs. I always loved the workflow of those machines and the hands-on process to making beats. Maschine lets me do this and loads more with my laptop. The introduction of VST hosting in 1.6 means I’m using it more to write and produce, and DAWs just to arrange and mix. The less mouse and keyboard the better in my book.”

Native Instruments Guitar Rig

Ben Harris

“I used to use an amp and a bunch of pedals when we played live but Guitar Rig sounds so good that I just use that for touring now. Its pedal board acts as the soundcard for the guitar and for Ableton Live, which hosts all of the soft synths I use on-stage.”

Native Instruments Traktor

Ben Harris

“This is starting to look an NI advert! Traktor is hands-down the best software for DJing. The new Sample Decks are a killer! It’s solid and the FX are great. You can sync other software like Maschine to it, too. Being able to improvise in the moment is so important to me when I’m DJing, and with Traktor you have tons of options.”